This might come across as a bit of a rant but I really need to speak my mind about this.
I've been given various links such as this YouTube Video and an article about how the term geek is so meaningless, that there's no point using it anymore - especially since there are girls going around doing it for attention
Point One: Who Are These So Called Girls?!
I mean, seriously? Every geeky girl I've met have been genuine geeky girls with either similar interests as me or similar interests to Mr Husband. I'm yet to meet one that acts and behaviours like they are doing it for the attention of a geeky bloke. Also, you are basically insulting the intelligence of geeky guys. How? Well, you are basically suggesting that they wouldn't see through it that girl for who they really are - someone doing it purely for the attention.
Point Two: Who Are These Guys To Judge Girl Geeks on Looks Alone?
If you watch the YouTube video (which I recommend) then she makes a very good point that geeky guys are justifying who is a geeky girl by their looks, not our interests or personalities. What gives any man - not just geeky guy - the right to be so completely sexist towards women?! I have a great personality (even though I'm shy) and I'm sure Mr Husband agrees with me since he's my husband. This this way of categorising women based purely on looks is degrading.
Point Three: The Geeky World Has to Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
It's worrying on some comments towards girl geeks are getting around. And geeks really need to wake up. And I agree, its even more difficult being a girl geek than a guy geek. I'm not saying that being a guy geek is easy - far from it. But as soon as I join MW3 games, I just get abuse for being female. I often play online games without my mice because I really don't want the abuse from guys. I'm really lucky in the sense that those who do know me, know that I might not be the greatest, but I do it for the entertainment. I've met some really great friends from my geeky interests. I even met my Husband though my love of photography (we are both photography geeks).
But its not just geeks. Some sections of industry really need to wake up to girl geeks. For example, if you customise your avatar on Xbox 360, the main colours are pink and purple. I hate both of them. Not all girls are over the top, pink lovers. Some are, but most aren't
Girl geeks have made some progress in the geek world. Lets not start closing doors now because of wrong attitudes towards being a female geek. Whether you are male or female, we all have a common interest. So lets not fight over it, lets enjoy discussing the important geeky things - like we always should be
Friday 7 December 2012
Tuesday 9 October 2012
GAME Loyalty
Sorry for the lack of blogging recently. This has been due to major changes in my life such as marriage, moving house and starting a new course.
Bur now that I am back, I wanted to discuss a topic that it very close to my heart – gaming.
I’ve been a gaming geek for many years now. My first exposure to gaming was on my brother’s Amega 800 (I think). It was only children’s games but my parents couldn’t get me off it! When my brother moved out, his room was set up so I could easily access it. And before that, I used to harass my brother into letting me watch him play games. He might have found it really annoying but for me, I loved every minute of it. Even now, I still get enjoyable from watching other people play games. Mr Husband – however – finds this to be very weird!
When I got older, I got my own consoles such as the PS1, PS2 and both Xbox Consoles. But even before them, I was happy on my desktop PC playing silly games like Sims or more hardcore games as the Diablo series and Starcraft games. But I also really enjoyed handheld gaming from Nintendo.
But it was through my love of handheld consoles and gaming on the move that introduced me to the GAME stores. I remember well as a tiny store in the corner of a huge shopping centre. I could only go to it when I was on holiday and every time I went there, I was asked to sign up to their loyality scheme. And I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to move away and be able to go to them everyday – Well, I was about 10!
But that excitement of having an place for easy assess to gaming never went away and when I moved away to attend college, I did go into the local GAME store. No longer a tiny store in the shopping centre. It was still shopping centre but a huge store in its own right. It proudly said that gaming was accessibility for all and not just us geeky few.
But of course, the face of gaming had changed over the years. No longer was it viewed as being done by nerdy boys in their bedrooms but more in the family home for everyone. So GAME got bigger and better. It was focused on gaming, but in a different way. In my eyes, GAME was highly respected by everyone and as a gamer, I wanted to support them as much as I could. So, over the years, I’ve been very loyal to them. Most of my gaming needs was brought from there. And I rarely looked elsewhere.
But in 2011, a storm was coming that would shake everyone up. GAME struggled and it was finally put into administration. The business was re-structured to adapt to their needs. But, ultimately, GAME was saved. As a gamer, I was glad to see that it was saved. Whilst some stories had come out about how it had gained its domination came out, it was still respected and a point of knowledge for gaming. But also, so many staff lost their jobs and their staff MADE the store for me. They were friendly and always willing to help you out.
Now for the main purpose of this blog, we need to back track to November 2009. I just got Left 4 Dead 2 after some nagging from friends. I excitedly went home and played it with the husband. However, my 360 died in the process and the next day, I went and got a new 360 Elite. At the time, I took out GAME care, which was an expanded warranty which would kick in after Microsoft’s had run out. Great! I had a back up in case something went wrong. It was 3 years worth of protection and I was more than happy.
At the start of the blog, I said I moved house. Now in the process, something had clearly upset my 360 and now struggles to connect and maintain connection to my wireless controller. And after some investigation by me and Mr Husband, all the symptoms pointed to the console, maybe even the power pack. But it’s ok, I got GAME care!
Very simple then, I’d call the GAME store and tell them about my 3 year GAME care, which would run out in November 2012. Problem very much solved.
But it wasn’t solved. I called them up and told them the problem and about GAME care. I told them it would expire in 2012. The guy said he would investigate it and get back to me. He said it would be unlikely to be in place still, since they only do 2 year GAME care during Microsoft’s warranty period. But that’s not what I got sold. When I pointed this out, it was a case of “not my problem” since the GAME care was with the old GAME not the new GAME. I argued my point and he promised to check with headoffice.
After 4 weeks, I called them up to check what was going on. He checked and their hands were tied. My mis-sold GAME care was invalid now and they refused to help me. But now they are aware that its invalid, even if I took the console in for repair, they would point blank refuse it, even though it was mis-sold to me.
The loyalty I’ve shown to GAME ultimately means nothing to them. They clearly have enough customers that they don’t need me. I’ve tried contacting them on Twitter and I get no response back. It’s clear that they have lost their way. There’s no phone number to contact head office, just e-mail and online chat. Both of which aren’t helpful really. I prefer speaking to someone over the phone or face to face
My response? Well, I wrote this blog and my next move is to cut up my GAME loyalty card. The business has changed so much, whilst it used to be providing a service to gamers in a helpful, friendly manner, it now clearly about making sure profits are high and stuff the consequences.
I do hope that GAME come back from this and begin to improve again. It’s a store I love going to and I would go back to it, if they improved their service again.
Also, I’m welcome for suggestions on how to fix my 360. I really don’t want to have to buy a new one – especially with the rumours of a new console in 2013 or 2014.
Saturday 18 August 2012
It's Official
We got married
Mr Husband is now officially my Husband and I am officially his wife.
Back soon.
Mr Husband is now officially my Husband and I am officially his wife.
Back soon.
Friday 3 August 2012
Gaming Age Rating Changes
Before discuss the upcoming changes in the UK, I just wanted to do a quick explanation on why I'm discussing this rather than the new Mountain Lion OSX for Macs. It had been my original plan to do this, however me and Mr Husband have recently moved house. We have some internet however, we don't have enough bandwidth to download the new OSX. I'm disappointed that I can't review it since it will have a huge impact on dyslexics however once I am able to download it, I will do a review.
On Tuesday 30th July, a new game rating system came into force. It was on the BBC news but some people won't understand the impact or the reasons that change was needed. Today's blog will discuss these issues
What's happened? Over the last few years, the UK Game ratings system has moved from the classification used by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) to the PEGI (Pan-European Game Information). This week saw that those selling video games must obey the PEGI ratings or face prosecution.
Why has this has happened?
There have been a few reasons behind this changes. Firstly, it is recognised throughout Europe - since it is used in a lot of European countries. It is worth pointing out that whilst the PEGI system is in place in Europe, not all countries have moved to the step of making the legally enforceable. In the UK - this system has created the Games Rating Authority through the VSC [Video Standards Council]. This is important since they will be able to focus on just games ratings, unlike than the BBFC which focused on video games and movies. But more importantly, it is a clearer for families to understand the content of the games and what age range is acceptable to play it. Research carried out in 2010 found that over 60% of parents were in favour of the PEGI age ratings. What's my personal view on this? I have always held the opinion that its important to have clear understanding for parents in terms of games and their content. I'm not a parent however, I do plan to be and I want my children to not be exposed to content that they aren't mature enough to deal with. Whilst my parents understood the BBFC ratings, there wasn't much clarity in terms of the amount of violence, bad language or sexual references in the games I was playing. I feel that this change can only be viewed as positive. I can remember being a 15 year old child playing 18 rated games. But I did this with my parents knowledge and I explained the content of the games. They believed I was mature enough at that age to deal with that content. Whilst I was responsible, I know people who were younger but not as open to their parents. But what was worse, there were no consequences for those selling the games, unlike if you were to sell movies. This changed using the same classification system for movies but it didn't really explain what could be in the game. This new system not only shows what ages are acceptable for each game, but also if it had violence, bad language or sexual references within the game content. This clearly explains the content of the game to the parents, meaning they are able to make an informed decision on whether their child could handle the content or not. Isn't that beneficial to everyone?
On Tuesday 30th July, a new game rating system came into force. It was on the BBC news but some people won't understand the impact or the reasons that change was needed. Today's blog will discuss these issues
What's happened? Over the last few years, the UK Game ratings system has moved from the classification used by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) to the PEGI (Pan-European Game Information). This week saw that those selling video games must obey the PEGI ratings or face prosecution.
Why has this has happened?
There have been a few reasons behind this changes. Firstly, it is recognised throughout Europe - since it is used in a lot of European countries. It is worth pointing out that whilst the PEGI system is in place in Europe, not all countries have moved to the step of making the legally enforceable. In the UK - this system has created the Games Rating Authority through the VSC [Video Standards Council]. This is important since they will be able to focus on just games ratings, unlike than the BBFC which focused on video games and movies. But more importantly, it is a clearer for families to understand the content of the games and what age range is acceptable to play it. Research carried out in 2010 found that over 60% of parents were in favour of the PEGI age ratings. What's my personal view on this? I have always held the opinion that its important to have clear understanding for parents in terms of games and their content. I'm not a parent however, I do plan to be and I want my children to not be exposed to content that they aren't mature enough to deal with. Whilst my parents understood the BBFC ratings, there wasn't much clarity in terms of the amount of violence, bad language or sexual references in the games I was playing. I feel that this change can only be viewed as positive. I can remember being a 15 year old child playing 18 rated games. But I did this with my parents knowledge and I explained the content of the games. They believed I was mature enough at that age to deal with that content. Whilst I was responsible, I know people who were younger but not as open to their parents. But what was worse, there were no consequences for those selling the games, unlike if you were to sell movies. This changed using the same classification system for movies but it didn't really explain what could be in the game. This new system not only shows what ages are acceptable for each game, but also if it had violence, bad language or sexual references within the game content. This clearly explains the content of the game to the parents, meaning they are able to make an informed decision on whether their child could handle the content or not. Isn't that beneficial to everyone?
Sunday 22 July 2012
The Dark Knight Rises - Spoiler Free!
WARNING: Do not read this if you haven't seen the previous movie. This may spoil the ending. However, this blog does not contain any The Dark Knight Rises spoilers.
Often, me and Mr Husband go to the cinema. We tend to go for the Orange Wednesday offers. If you don't know, that's 2 tickets for the price of 1 on Wednesdays from the phone company Orange. And we enjoy it a lot but the downside is that we don't get to go to many movies on the actual day of release. We almost have an unwritten rule that we only go on the actual day of release if its something really worth seeing before Wednesday.
One movie was Christopher Nolan's conclusion of the Batman trilogy. We wanted to see this for a long time. I am personally a huge fan of Christopher Nolan as a director. I was introduced to him with The Dark Knight and it was an impressive movie. But at the time, I wasn't aware who he was as a director. What really introduced me to him as a director was Memento. I had to watch it as part of my course. Then there was Inception which was an amazing movie and really showed how he preferred to do amazing stunts through the camera and not through special effects - something I agree with so much. In an upcoming blog, I will explore these movies more. But for now, lets focus on The Dark Knight Rises
Without giving anything away and using Internet Movie Database, I will quickly explain the outline of the movie. It's set 8 years after the previous movie. Gotham City has branded Batman an enemy of the city after the perceived murder of Harvey Dent aka Two-Faced. However, another super villain has begun to terrorise the city, in the form of Bane. Batman must return and save Gotham City. Personally, it was a great ending to the trilogy and leaves the door ajar to another set of movies as well. I really enjoyed it throughout but I really want to sit and watch all three films again to fully appreciate the trilogy again. To be honest, I said the same thing when I saw The Avengers movie. I really felt I needed to re-watch Thor again. Both great movies as well.
So what was Mr Husband's point of view? Mr Husband's quote when we came out the cinema was "Sorry Joss Whedon but Christopher Nolan is now my Master." This is very high praise from Mr Husband since Joss Whedon is one of his favourite directors.
If you get a chance, please go and see this movie. It's really great!!
Before I end this blog, I want to say that my thoughts are with the families and friends of the people who died due to the shooting in Aurora, Colorado. No one should ever lose a person close to them like this. No one.
Often, me and Mr Husband go to the cinema. We tend to go for the Orange Wednesday offers. If you don't know, that's 2 tickets for the price of 1 on Wednesdays from the phone company Orange. And we enjoy it a lot but the downside is that we don't get to go to many movies on the actual day of release. We almost have an unwritten rule that we only go on the actual day of release if its something really worth seeing before Wednesday.
One movie was Christopher Nolan's conclusion of the Batman trilogy. We wanted to see this for a long time. I am personally a huge fan of Christopher Nolan as a director. I was introduced to him with The Dark Knight and it was an impressive movie. But at the time, I wasn't aware who he was as a director. What really introduced me to him as a director was Memento. I had to watch it as part of my course. Then there was Inception which was an amazing movie and really showed how he preferred to do amazing stunts through the camera and not through special effects - something I agree with so much. In an upcoming blog, I will explore these movies more. But for now, lets focus on The Dark Knight Rises
Without giving anything away and using Internet Movie Database, I will quickly explain the outline of the movie. It's set 8 years after the previous movie. Gotham City has branded Batman an enemy of the city after the perceived murder of Harvey Dent aka Two-Faced. However, another super villain has begun to terrorise the city, in the form of Bane. Batman must return and save Gotham City. Personally, it was a great ending to the trilogy and leaves the door ajar to another set of movies as well. I really enjoyed it throughout but I really want to sit and watch all three films again to fully appreciate the trilogy again. To be honest, I said the same thing when I saw The Avengers movie. I really felt I needed to re-watch Thor again. Both great movies as well.
So what was Mr Husband's point of view? Mr Husband's quote when we came out the cinema was "Sorry Joss Whedon but Christopher Nolan is now my Master." This is very high praise from Mr Husband since Joss Whedon is one of his favourite directors.
If you get a chance, please go and see this movie. It's really great!!
Before I end this blog, I want to say that my thoughts are with the families and friends of the people who died due to the shooting in Aurora, Colorado. No one should ever lose a person close to them like this. No one.
Monday 9 July 2012
The Story of my MacBook Pro
When I had the idea for this blog, I still had my original Windows 7 laptop. However, after my exams, I got a MacBook Pro (late 2011 version). And how it came to be is a story I like to tell. With everything else going on, this is the first time I've been able to tell it to my blog
Before I go into the actual story, I should explain how I ended up loving Apple products. If you spoke to me 3 years ago, I hated Apple and how you would end up being tied to the one company without little freedom for other software. I didn't like the products but Mr Husband was even worse. But through his job, he admitted that he would need to know how to program on the upcoming Apple products - just incase he was asked to do it. So he ended up buying the iPhone 3GS and the MacBook Pro (Mid 2009). He didn't want to but he needed to. But over time, we discovered how much better the Apple products were to normal Windows PCs and Linux Operating System (since Mr Husband was using it at the time). The reason that Apple was all tied together was because you didn't need the freedom. Software such as Anti-Virus and WinZip aren't needed. Over time, we realised the advantages of using the Macs over Windows, and we began to use Apple products more.
This being said, I've only recently got my MacBook Pro. This was because I was given a laptop due to my dyslexia. However, whilst I am grateful for the laptop - it wasn't the best laptop. After a few weeks of few, my battery life went from one full hour to only getting between 10 to 20 minutes at the most. I got the laptop when Windows 7 first came out, which meant that all the software hadn't been fully tested for bugs. And it showed through. Over the last year of my degree, I ended up using our Mac Mini (which is really used as a media centre) to complete my coursework and use for revising. And it was at this point, I discovered that the Macs were so much more effective than my current Windows laptop. I began to use my Windows laptop less and my Mac Mini more. There was one major disadvantage though. The Mac Mini is portable as long as you have easy assess to a monitor. However, this wasn't the case at my University. So the long painful method of saving up began.
Fast forward to the last day of my exams, I organised to meet up with my Dad. I don't get to see him much due to his job but when he's home, then we have good quality time together. So, we have a little after-exam traditions. So I was on my way to meet him when I get a call. He asked me to go and meet up with him but to remember my student ID because he needed it for the discount. I didn't really think anything of it but I said not to worry and I would see him soon. After that, we met up and he told me that he wanted to go into the local shopping centre to buy some trousers. Again, this was reasonable so I said we would go. At the local shopping centre, I asked if we could stop at the Apple store. For me and Mr Husband, this is very much a routine to go and admire all the products in the Apple store. So Dad said yes and we wondered into the Apple store and Dad stopped at the MacBook Pro. He then asked someone to help him pick a MacBook Pro FOR ME! I'm telling you now - my jaw hit the ground. I really didn't expect to get a MacBook Pro. But Dad told me that I deserved it for my hard work at University so this was a graduation present and a birthday present combined. Dad understood that the Windows laptop was slowly dying - at this point, most mornings it would squeal for 30 minutes until it had warmed up. But he also understood that the MacBook Pro was needed for my University work for my dyslexia.
I've had it since May and I love it. And I'm glad I got it before the upgrade since all the newer MacBook Pros no longer have a DVD drive. Which is a really minor thing but at least I have it if I need it. I'm looking forward to Mountain Lion coming out since it will have dictation on it as well. But now, my Apple product family is complete and I'm really happy about that.
Friday 22 June 2012
Awesome Technique for Reading
I did say that I would do a blog about dyslexia so as promised, I wanted to discuss a new technique I have found for reading. During my last set of exams for University, I found a really amazing way on how to improve my reading. It's so simple, I can't believe I didn't think of it before.
Before I explain what it is, I'm just going to provide you all with some really important background information about me and my course. I am dyslexic but I only got told at the start of my University course. Since then, even though I had a feeling all this time, I've really had to up my game and develop coping strategies on how to read. I am doing a psychology course which involves a LOT of reading. I tried recommendations such as text-to-speech software which worked on my Mac Mini at home but in terms of Windows 7, the software continuously crashed on me. Apple get +10 points for having text-to-speech software built in to their OSX systems and +5 points for it working effectively. Microsoft should have -10 points for not having it built in and another - 10 points for the "solutions" for Windows computers being completely rubbish as well. The other issue is that I use a Windows laptop for University and I have no way of affording a MacBook Pro yet. So, I'm stuck with it. I needed a better solution. And for 2.5 years, I didn't have one. But with my psychology course, most of the work was research papers which I had to print out. Very little books which helps me so much!
Until the last set of exams. The pressure was on and I had a lot of lecture reading materials. So my solution is simple and involves pretty colours!! My solution is high-lighter pens. Not a new idea but it get better. Make rainbows with them! Yes, I know - I sense the feeling of "I've gone nuts" But seriously, with every paragraph or major point in the research article, change the highlighter colour and make a rainbow on the paper. It focuses your eyes to the major points that you need to remember whilst looking pretty at the same time.
So how did it help? Well, it split up long paragraphs into short managable chucks and these small chucks would have the main points of the actual paragraph. The technique is stupidly simple which makes me wonder why I never thought of it before. But interestingly, when I showed this idea to Mr Husband (who is not dyslexic) and he said that he wouldn't be able to read from the page. For him, there was too much on the page for him to focus on reading. Whilst for me, the white paper was a distraction within itself.
But of course, the real test is if it improved my marks between the semesters. Well, on Saturday morning, my exam marks were in and my overall mark had improved. I won't know for a while if it improved individual exams. But I'm still really glad it pulled my mark up at least. But for now, I don't need to worry about it because these exams were the final exams of my Undergraduate degree. I now have my 2:2 degree and I'm super happy about it. But at least I know about this technique now and I can apply it to other areas of my life.
But for this post of my blog, there's one thing you should learn. As a dyslexic, you are always looking and finding new ways to improve your reading. For me, it is important to be pro-active in finding something that works. It might not work for everyone or I might find something else that's even better but at least I've tried a technique and given it my best shot. And I'll keep looking. For one main reason - I don't want to give up on reading.
Before I explain what it is, I'm just going to provide you all with some really important background information about me and my course. I am dyslexic but I only got told at the start of my University course. Since then, even though I had a feeling all this time, I've really had to up my game and develop coping strategies on how to read. I am doing a psychology course which involves a LOT of reading. I tried recommendations such as text-to-speech software which worked on my Mac Mini at home but in terms of Windows 7, the software continuously crashed on me. Apple get +10 points for having text-to-speech software built in to their OSX systems and +5 points for it working effectively. Microsoft should have -10 points for not having it built in and another - 10 points for the "solutions" for Windows computers being completely rubbish as well. The other issue is that I use a Windows laptop for University and I have no way of affording a MacBook Pro yet. So, I'm stuck with it. I needed a better solution. And for 2.5 years, I didn't have one. But with my psychology course, most of the work was research papers which I had to print out. Very little books which helps me so much!
Until the last set of exams. The pressure was on and I had a lot of lecture reading materials. So my solution is simple and involves pretty colours!! My solution is high-lighter pens. Not a new idea but it get better. Make rainbows with them! Yes, I know - I sense the feeling of "I've gone nuts" But seriously, with every paragraph or major point in the research article, change the highlighter colour and make a rainbow on the paper. It focuses your eyes to the major points that you need to remember whilst looking pretty at the same time.
So how did it help? Well, it split up long paragraphs into short managable chucks and these small chucks would have the main points of the actual paragraph. The technique is stupidly simple which makes me wonder why I never thought of it before. But interestingly, when I showed this idea to Mr Husband (who is not dyslexic) and he said that he wouldn't be able to read from the page. For him, there was too much on the page for him to focus on reading. Whilst for me, the white paper was a distraction within itself.
But of course, the real test is if it improved my marks between the semesters. Well, on Saturday morning, my exam marks were in and my overall mark had improved. I won't know for a while if it improved individual exams. But I'm still really glad it pulled my mark up at least. But for now, I don't need to worry about it because these exams were the final exams of my Undergraduate degree. I now have my 2:2 degree and I'm super happy about it. But at least I know about this technique now and I can apply it to other areas of my life.
But for this post of my blog, there's one thing you should learn. As a dyslexic, you are always looking and finding new ways to improve your reading. For me, it is important to be pro-active in finding something that works. It might not work for everyone or I might find something else that's even better but at least I've tried a technique and given it my best shot. And I'll keep looking. For one main reason - I don't want to give up on reading.
Monday 11 June 2012
My WWDC 2012 Keynote Response
Its only been a few days, but I've decided to do an additional blog to discuss Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2012, and in particular, their keynote speech which was delivered by Tim Cook and other Apple staff. I followed the developments on twitter using MacRumours live feed. And I really want to give my response on what has been announced.
The first part of the keynote was showing how Apple products have an impact to make a difference in their user's lives. This is completely I can relate to because of my dyslexia, Apple products really do help me in my everyday life, from writing this blog to doing coursework for University. I often use my iPad for note taking and my MacBook Pro is used almost everyday. It's much lighter than my old laptop and has a more effective and longer battery life. But in terms of all my Apple products, my iPhone is the most essential. My iPhone has all my appointments on me and Mr Husband's shared calendar. I really struggled before, because without having the calendar, I would often forget appointments or even double book my appointments. My memory - a known problem with dyslexics - is awful.
Today's keynote announced a few things. In terms of the MacBook Pro ranges, these don't really affect me. I just got my MacBook Pro (story in a blog later) and I'm not looking to update mine now. However, I will be going to the Apple Store to look at the new MacBook Pro with retina screen to see how impressive it is.
What does affect me is OSX Mountain Lion with more integrated use of iCloud, which I use all the time. What I'm really excited about is Dictation on the Mac, which can be used anywhere in the Mac. This is ideal for me, since software for dictation has really improved in the last few years. And Siri in the iPhone 4S is probably the best version of this type of software to date so to see this on the Mac is impressive. Also, as a gamer, I am also impressed with the new Game Centre as well which will have gaming for Mac vs iPad or Mac vs Mac. Looks like I will be trying to beat Mr Husband on the Mac, as well as the iPad and the Xbox 360! Mountain Lion is out next month for $19.99 and its the same as the update for Lion, one download that you can use to update all your Macs. With 3 Macs in our flat, £19.99 is better than £59.97
Finally the iOS 6 updates. Siri is getting a huge update for launching applications and asking sports related knowledge. But also, there is an additional for more languages. Another Siri feature is Eyes Free which will work with particular car manufacturers. This would be awesome if I was buying a new car anytime soon or if Siri was on my iPhone 4 however, its a feature that I look forward to using in the future but will be great for Mr Husband's iPhone 4S. Facebook integration is also happening as well. This is no real surprise since they did this with twitter and since Facebook is a bigger social network (sorry Twitter but I love you as well), it was always going to happen. FaceTime will be used over cellular networks and no longer just over WiFi. This will be good if Mr Husband is away working and we need to use FaceTime instead of Skype's video conferencing which is temperamental. PassBook is also a good idea but we will wait to see who supports it in terms of airlines. This could be handy for Mr Husband's travelling. But also, its good to see that Apple is proud for their accessibility usage. As a dyslexic, the iPhone really does benefit me. There are also new maps for iOS 6 which more features than the current maps system. There have been a lot of rumours that Apple were developing their own system for maps and were planning to drop Google Maps. But the new maps are very pretty with more features such as traffic information and sat nat features using Siri. However, it isn't updated for the original iPad which affects both me and Mr Husband since we both have the original iPads. However, I doubt we will upgrade our iPads based on this
Overall, I'm really impressed with the WWDC. The software updates benefit more than that the hardware updates. That being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the new MacBook Updates in the Apple Store. Another impressive year from WWDC. Now just need to wait for the new iPhone 5 to be announced soon.
The first part of the keynote was showing how Apple products have an impact to make a difference in their user's lives. This is completely I can relate to because of my dyslexia, Apple products really do help me in my everyday life, from writing this blog to doing coursework for University. I often use my iPad for note taking and my MacBook Pro is used almost everyday. It's much lighter than my old laptop and has a more effective and longer battery life. But in terms of all my Apple products, my iPhone is the most essential. My iPhone has all my appointments on me and Mr Husband's shared calendar. I really struggled before, because without having the calendar, I would often forget appointments or even double book my appointments. My memory - a known problem with dyslexics - is awful.
Today's keynote announced a few things. In terms of the MacBook Pro ranges, these don't really affect me. I just got my MacBook Pro (story in a blog later) and I'm not looking to update mine now. However, I will be going to the Apple Store to look at the new MacBook Pro with retina screen to see how impressive it is.
What does affect me is OSX Mountain Lion with more integrated use of iCloud, which I use all the time. What I'm really excited about is Dictation on the Mac, which can be used anywhere in the Mac. This is ideal for me, since software for dictation has really improved in the last few years. And Siri in the iPhone 4S is probably the best version of this type of software to date so to see this on the Mac is impressive. Also, as a gamer, I am also impressed with the new Game Centre as well which will have gaming for Mac vs iPad or Mac vs Mac. Looks like I will be trying to beat Mr Husband on the Mac, as well as the iPad and the Xbox 360! Mountain Lion is out next month for $19.99 and its the same as the update for Lion, one download that you can use to update all your Macs. With 3 Macs in our flat, £19.99 is better than £59.97
Finally the iOS 6 updates. Siri is getting a huge update for launching applications and asking sports related knowledge. But also, there is an additional for more languages. Another Siri feature is Eyes Free which will work with particular car manufacturers. This would be awesome if I was buying a new car anytime soon or if Siri was on my iPhone 4 however, its a feature that I look forward to using in the future but will be great for Mr Husband's iPhone 4S. Facebook integration is also happening as well. This is no real surprise since they did this with twitter and since Facebook is a bigger social network (sorry Twitter but I love you as well), it was always going to happen. FaceTime will be used over cellular networks and no longer just over WiFi. This will be good if Mr Husband is away working and we need to use FaceTime instead of Skype's video conferencing which is temperamental. PassBook is also a good idea but we will wait to see who supports it in terms of airlines. This could be handy for Mr Husband's travelling. But also, its good to see that Apple is proud for their accessibility usage. As a dyslexic, the iPhone really does benefit me. There are also new maps for iOS 6 which more features than the current maps system. There have been a lot of rumours that Apple were developing their own system for maps and were planning to drop Google Maps. But the new maps are very pretty with more features such as traffic information and sat nat features using Siri. However, it isn't updated for the original iPad which affects both me and Mr Husband since we both have the original iPads. However, I doubt we will upgrade our iPads based on this
Overall, I'm really impressed with the WWDC. The software updates benefit more than that the hardware updates. That being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the new MacBook Updates in the Apple Store. Another impressive year from WWDC. Now just need to wait for the new iPhone 5 to be announced soon.
Friday 8 June 2012
What Geek Am I?
For those of you who are new to this blog, I should really tell you a little about me.
My name is Addie and I'm currently at University in Scotland. I'm just finished my undergraduate degree and I'm looking to the future...and beyond! I have a loving husband-to-be (and for the point of this blog, he will be referred to as Mr Husband).
In terms of geeky - I'm an overall geek through and through. I love my films - me and Mr Husband are complete film nuts. I love my gadgets. But that being said, I am an Appletard. I got my iPhone 4...then my iPad and I recently got the MacBook Pro. But its not just computer gadgets I love. Anything that fixes a problem I will get. For example, I do love baking and I really try to do it regularly. But if I was going to pipe icing, a re-washable bag was a nightmare but throw away bags seemed a bit wasteful. However, I walked into a store one day and found a silicon piping bag which is easier to clean but not wasteful. I love it!
But of course, my love of Apple products and my love of a good solution have come together. I love my MacBook Pro because I need text-to-speech software because of my dyslexia. But Windows 7 doesn't have it innately and the software provided for me was awful. So, when I used Mr Husband's Mac Mini for University work, it worked like a dream. So when I ended up with a MacBook Pro - which is a story for another blog - I was delighted.
But of course, I do love other types of gadgets. I love doing photography and I currently use a Canon 400D with a body grip and a range of lenses. I love using my gadget knowledge to apply to my photography hobby. It's something I haven't had time for recently but I do plan to get into it. But my love of gadgets also affect my hobby of exercising. Mr Husband has recently completed his first half-marathon and when we were training together, we both used apps on our iPhone to track our progress. Which was ideal when we were in two different countries.
I use my love of gadgets so I can be creative. I have a tablet for my old PC which was really good for digital painting which I really enjoyed doing. Now, I use my iPad as the tablet and I'm going to get a new Bamboo pen so I can practise and get better at drawing again.
For me, being a geeky affects a lot of aspects of my life in a positive way. Hell, if it wasn't for my geeky trait, I would have never meet Mr Husband - who is just as geeky as me, if not more.
That's who I am. Leave a comment and tell me about you!
My name is Addie and I'm currently at University in Scotland. I'm just finished my undergraduate degree and I'm looking to the future...and beyond! I have a loving husband-to-be (and for the point of this blog, he will be referred to as Mr Husband).
In terms of geeky - I'm an overall geek through and through. I love my films - me and Mr Husband are complete film nuts. I love my gadgets. But that being said, I am an Appletard. I got my iPhone 4...then my iPad and I recently got the MacBook Pro. But its not just computer gadgets I love. Anything that fixes a problem I will get. For example, I do love baking and I really try to do it regularly. But if I was going to pipe icing, a re-washable bag was a nightmare but throw away bags seemed a bit wasteful. However, I walked into a store one day and found a silicon piping bag which is easier to clean but not wasteful. I love it!
But of course, my love of Apple products and my love of a good solution have come together. I love my MacBook Pro because I need text-to-speech software because of my dyslexia. But Windows 7 doesn't have it innately and the software provided for me was awful. So, when I used Mr Husband's Mac Mini for University work, it worked like a dream. So when I ended up with a MacBook Pro - which is a story for another blog - I was delighted.
But of course, I do love other types of gadgets. I love doing photography and I currently use a Canon 400D with a body grip and a range of lenses. I love using my gadget knowledge to apply to my photography hobby. It's something I haven't had time for recently but I do plan to get into it. But my love of gadgets also affect my hobby of exercising. Mr Husband has recently completed his first half-marathon and when we were training together, we both used apps on our iPhone to track our progress. Which was ideal when we were in two different countries.
I use my love of gadgets so I can be creative. I have a tablet for my old PC which was really good for digital painting which I really enjoyed doing. Now, I use my iPad as the tablet and I'm going to get a new Bamboo pen so I can practise and get better at drawing again.
For me, being a geeky affects a lot of aspects of my life in a positive way. Hell, if it wasn't for my geeky trait, I would have never meet Mr Husband - who is just as geeky as me, if not more.
That's who I am. Leave a comment and tell me about you!
Monday 4 June 2012
Moving Blog
I’ve just announced on my personal twitter that I’m changing my blogs. Some people might be confused why I’ve done this so I thought I would explain it here – on my new blog.
I really enjoyed doing my dyslexia blog. However, when I was doing my last blog series, I became stuck. I didn’t know what else to write about. But I did have topics but just not on dyslexia. So, I decided to move from a dyslexia blog to a geeky blog which would still contain blogs on dyslexia. I also decided to do bi-weekly blogs, which would help me from dealing from pressure from the real world. That being said, if I find out some AMAZING news - like the launch of a product I really want, then I might post in between the regular two weeks.
But, there was another issue which had bigger consequence for me. I was letting my dyslexia define me as a person. But I'm more than just a dyslexic. I'm a student, a friend, a fiancée, an internet user, an artist, a poet and a geek. Why should I tie myself down to something that some people might view as a negative in my personality? Whereas, being a geek is something that could be viewed negatively however most people don't. It could be argued that I'm doing the same with a geeky blog. But being labelled a bit geeky is a bit different than being labelled just a dyslexic. But more importantly, I'm ok with being labelled a geek. Simply put - it's who I am.
The third problem was nothing to do with the actual blog, but rather the provider itself. I used wordpress as a recommendation from years ago and I thought I would give it another go again. But wordpress was awful! Their apps for iPhone and iPad would continue to crash all the time. So when I wanted to lie in bed and do a quick blog, it was a nightmare! Wordpress has become unuseable. So I had to move and I know that blogger was very good back in the day and appeared to remain as a good standard.So I played around with it a lot more than I did wordpress before. And in terms of apps, you aren't stuck with just their app - which is only on iPhone (minor issue - I can live with that).
I hope you all understand why I've moved blogs and why I've changed blogs. And I hope you guys enjoy my new blogs as much as I enjoy writing it.
My next blog will be up quicker than two week though! I will post it up in the next few days - I promise.
I really enjoyed doing my dyslexia blog. However, when I was doing my last blog series, I became stuck. I didn’t know what else to write about. But I did have topics but just not on dyslexia. So, I decided to move from a dyslexia blog to a geeky blog which would still contain blogs on dyslexia. I also decided to do bi-weekly blogs, which would help me from dealing from pressure from the real world. That being said, if I find out some AMAZING news - like the launch of a product I really want, then I might post in between the regular two weeks.
But, there was another issue which had bigger consequence for me. I was letting my dyslexia define me as a person. But I'm more than just a dyslexic. I'm a student, a friend, a fiancée, an internet user, an artist, a poet and a geek. Why should I tie myself down to something that some people might view as a negative in my personality? Whereas, being a geek is something that could be viewed negatively however most people don't. It could be argued that I'm doing the same with a geeky blog. But being labelled a bit geeky is a bit different than being labelled just a dyslexic. But more importantly, I'm ok with being labelled a geek. Simply put - it's who I am.
The third problem was nothing to do with the actual blog, but rather the provider itself. I used wordpress as a recommendation from years ago and I thought I would give it another go again. But wordpress was awful! Their apps for iPhone and iPad would continue to crash all the time. So when I wanted to lie in bed and do a quick blog, it was a nightmare! Wordpress has become unuseable. So I had to move and I know that blogger was very good back in the day and appeared to remain as a good standard.So I played around with it a lot more than I did wordpress before. And in terms of apps, you aren't stuck with just their app - which is only on iPhone (minor issue - I can live with that).
I hope you all understand why I've moved blogs and why I've changed blogs. And I hope you guys enjoy my new blogs as much as I enjoy writing it.
My next blog will be up quicker than two week though! I will post it up in the next few days - I promise.
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